ADC candidate Dare Bejide rejects Ekiti election result, calling the governorship poll a “bad day for democracy” amid allegations of vote buying
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate, Dare Bejide, has rejected the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election, describing the process as deeply flawed and unworthy of democratic standards.
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Speaking in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Dare Bejide said the election fell far short of expectations, alleging that the exercise was conducted in what he described as an atmosphere resembling “a war zone”.
Bejide further accused the ruling party of widespread vote buying, claiming that money and food items were openly distributed at several polling units during the election.
“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in its entirety because the exercise was not credible,” Bejide said.
The ADC candidate alleged that the presence of political actors and security operatives contributed to tension in some polling units, including his own, where he claimed the environment was particularly volatile.
“You all witnessed what happened. Some places were almost like a war zone,” he added.
Bejide also accused unnamed political appointees and a serving senator of allegedly deploying thugs and security personnel to influence the process, a claim that, if verified, would raise serious concerns about electoral conduct in the state.
In a strongly worded statement, Bejide described the election as “a sad day for democracy,” insisting that the credibility of the exercise had been severely undermined by alleged financial inducements at polling stations.
“Bags of money were brought to polling units, and enormous sums were spent,” he claimed, adding that such actions reflected what he described as poor governance performance by the ruling party.
He argued that a well-performing government would not need to rely on financial inducements to secure electoral support, stating that voter trust should be earned through delivery of democratic dividends.
Bejide, however, noted that he had not yet fully reviewed the official results and was relying partly on reports circulating from polling units and social media while awaiting full collation from his team.
“I have not personally seen the full results; I have only heard reports on social media,” he said.
He added that his campaign team was still compiling results from polling units across the state before the party takes a formal position.
“Once we receive and analyse everything, we will brief our party members,” Bejide stated.
The ADC candidate stressed that consultations were ongoing within the party and that a final decision would be taken after a full review of available data.
“At this stage, we are certainly not satisfied with the conduct of the election,” he said.
Despite his strong criticisms, Bejide urged supporters and residents of Ekiti State to remain calm and maintain peace while the situation is assessed.
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Political reactions are expected to intensify in the coming days as parties review results from what has become a closely watched and highly contested governorship election.
